Hi!
My name is Michelle. I come from Beijing, China. Next year I will be a senior, and I'm going to apply U.S universities. Last year I took the summer sessions in UC Berkeley and finished studying the Intro to Human Physiology as well as Nutritional Science. I have been interested in Biology since then. I finished studying high school biology before most of the other students by taking the online courses published by our biology teacher. After that, I took SAT II Biology and AP Biology. I also took the Genetics Engineering Lab class last semester, so I did have some basic knowledge related to synthetic biology.
Besides the academic interest, I'm also interested in hip-hop dance. I joined in the dance club at our school in my junior year. In the school dance competition, we did a successful performance at the end with a Korean song called "Hate". Sometimes I also like to play basketball with my classmates though I'm not tall. :P I've learnt it at school for one year. I always feel good when I collaborate and make efforts toward the same goal with my friends.
That's all about me. I'm happy to see you all. :)
Hope we can have fun in the following weeks !
Design Proposal:
To Replace the Traditional Night Light by the Power of Bacteria
Purpose
A tiny night light placed in kids’ bedroom often helps to calm kids’ fear of the dark as well as light the way if kids want to get up in the midnights. The night light makes a comfortable environment for kids; however, it can also pose hazards while being used inappropriately.
Fig.1 Traditional night light
Night light can overheat sometimes, which will cause risks of fire and scald. Also, for those nights that are plugged in an outlet, electrical shock is likely to happen if kids spill water on it or try to unplug or plug in it on their own. The danger brought by these night lights need to be solved, for it is closely related to many kids’ safety. My design is to replace the electric night light by a container that is filled with glowing bacteria. This kind of design avoid usage of electricity and risks of overheat, which will guarantee the kids’ safety to some extent.
Competing Technologies
Battery operated LED night light is invented to solve this problem. The LED light belongs to a kind of cold light source, which means it will produce less heat during the usage than other lights such as incandescent lights. This will reduce the risks of fire and scald to some extent. Also, the light is battery operated, which reduce the risks of electrical shock.
However, LEDs do have a dark side. A study published in late 2010 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found that LEDs contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially dangerous substances. The LED night lights can’t eradicate the problems of fire and scald as well.
The Design
I solve the problem by editing the gene of E.coli, a comparatively harmless bacteria. I insert 5 piece of genes in the gene of E.coli which code for bacterial luciferase enzyme and fatty acid reductase enzyme complex. The design can emit light when a chemical reaction occurs. In the chemical reaction, the bacterial luciferase need to react with luciferin, oxygen, and fatty aldehyde. The luciferin is a reduced riboflavin phosphate, also known as FMNH2, which is derived from one electron carrier called FMN that is shown in ETC in both prokaryotic cell and eukaryotic cell. The luciferin can be attained after FMN getting a hydride from NADPH in a reaction catalyzed by FMN reductase. This technique is presented in most of the bacteria, so there is no need to concern about the supply of luciferin. Besides luciferin, fatty aldehyde and oxygen are also necessary. As shown in the figure 2, I insert 5 pieces of genes in the E.coli. Lux A and Lux B gene code for bacterial luciferase, and then the fatty acid reductase enzyme complex that is used for producing fatty aldehyde can be composed from 4 copies of polypeptides expressed by each of Lux C, Lux D, Lux E. Another necessary reactant, oxygen, will be attained from the outside environment.
Besides the basic components for transcription such as activator binding site, promoter, and terminator, I also add in a repressor and a light receptor in the E.coli. When there is light around the bacteria, no signals will be sent to repressor from the light receptor. The repressor will still bind with the operator on the gene and prevent the transcription. However, when there is no light presented in the outside environment, the light receptor inside the bacteria will sense that and send a chemical signal to the repressor. The chemical signal can bind with repressor and change the physical shape of repressor. The repressor then can not bind with the operator any more. Transcription then can begin and the bacteria luciferase enzyme, fatty acid reductase enzyme complex, and fatty aldehyde can be synthesized. Light-produced chemical reaction can occur now.
Fig.2 Edited Gene inside of E.coli
To make the cell function as a light, I put them in the liquid growth medium. The liquid growth medium contains the necessary substances for bacteria’s growth. The container will be separated from outside, but oxygen and liquid growth medium can be injected inside the container periodically by the syringes. The area that is used for injection on the containers works similarly to the air holes on basketball. This avoid the leakage of bacteria to some extent. The genetic devices used in the bacteria are shown in Table 1.
Table. 1 Genetic Devices Used in the Bacteria
Expected results
Table.2 Truth Table
When the bacteria is in a darkness, the transcription begins and luciferase enzyme as well as fatty aldehyde is produced. The light then can be produced if oxygen are also presented. However, when the environment around the bacteria is full of light, the transcription will not occur. Neither does the chemical reaction.
In this way, as long as the environment is suitable for the growth of E.coli and oxygen is added in periodically, the bacteria can response to the environment and function as a night light in the nights.
Advantages
This design reduces the threats brought by those harmful substances such as lead and arsenic. Also, the new type of night light can turn on or off itself depends on the environment. My design is worth funding because it can save electricity and reduce the risks of fire and scald for it doesn't use the electricity as an energy source. Also, the design is interesting for there are not many bioluminescence-based lights in today’s market.
Potential Problems
The bacteria can leak out of the container if kids broke it badly. Though E.coli is a type of comparatively harmless bacteria, the leakage will pose threats on kids’ health if it’s not dealt with appropriately.
When my employees are developing my design, they should absolutely wear goggles and gloves to avoid the direct contact with bacteria. Also, during the process, they should store the containers appropriately to avoid the leakage.
In addition, to protect the environment, all of the waste will be dealt with appropriately. They will not be thrown away directly for there will still be bacteria on them. We need to make sure that the bacteria will not spread in the ecological environment we live directly.
What’s more, there are also inefficiencies of my design compared to traditional night light. People just need to plug the traditional night light in the outlet when they want to use it. However, people need to add in oxygen and liquid growth medium to my design periodically if they want it to work appropriately. Also, the energy source of my design is a kind of bacteria. If being leaked out, it is able to pose danger to organisms’ health to some extent.
However, everything has two sides. Though the design has potential problems, as long as the consumers place it in appropriate places and add in oxygen and liquid growth medium periodically, those risks of fire and scald that are caused by traditional night light can all be reduced. What’s more, the design can regulate itself according to the brightness outside. In that way, consumers will not concern about forgetting to turn off the light on day time. It will turn off itself when the new day begins.
Testing
I will test the design by leaving it alone after adding a certain amount of oxygen and liquid growth medium. The time before it becomes unable to emit light will be recorded. This testing will help to figure out the relationship between the light time and the amount of oxygen and liquid growth medium. In this way, the best period time to add in those necessary substances can be found out. The usage of the light can be more efficient then for we can figure out in what way we can minimize the energy paying to make the light work and maximize the function of those necessary substances as well.
Hi!
My name is Michelle. I come from Beijing, China. Next year I will be a senior, and I'm going to apply U.S universities. Last year I took the summer sessions in UC Berkeley and finished studying the Intro to Human Physiology as well as Nutritional Science. I have been interested in Biology since then. I finished studying high school biology before most of the other students by taking the online courses published by our biology teacher. After that, I took SAT II Biology and AP Biology. I also took the Genetics Engineering Lab class last semester, so I did have some basic knowledge related to synthetic biology.
Besides the academic interest, I'm also interested in hip-hop dance. I joined in the dance club at our school in my junior year. In the school dance competition, we did a successful performance at the end with a Korean song called "Hate". Sometimes I also like to play basketball with my classmates though I'm not tall. :P I've learnt it at school for one year. I always feel good when I collaborate and make efforts toward the same goal with my friends.
That's all about me. I'm happy to see you all. :)
Hope we can have fun in the following weeks !
Design Proposal:
To Replace the Traditional Night Light by the Power of Bacteria
Purpose
A tiny night light placed in kids’ bedroom often helps to calm kids’ fear of the dark as well as light the way if kids want to get up in the midnights. The night light makes a comfortable environment for kids; however, it can also pose hazards while being used inappropriately.Fig.1 Traditional night light
Night light can overheat sometimes, which will cause risks of fire and scald. Also, for those nights that are plugged in an outlet, electrical shock is likely to happen if kids spill water on it or try to unplug or plug in it on their own. The danger brought by these night lights need to be solved, for it is closely related to many kids’ safety. My design is to replace the electric night light by a container that is filled with glowing bacteria. This kind of design avoid usage of electricity and risks of overheat, which will guarantee the kids’ safety to some extent.
Competing Technologies
Battery operated LED night light is invented to solve this problem. The LED light belongs to a kind of cold light source, which means it will produce less heat during the usage than other lights such as incandescent lights. This will reduce the risks of fire and scald to some extent. Also, the light is battery operated, which reduce the risks of electrical shock.However, LEDs do have a dark side. A study published in late 2010 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found that LEDs contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially dangerous substances. The LED night lights can’t eradicate the problems of fire and scald as well.
The Design
I solve the problem by editing the gene of E.coli, a comparatively harmless bacteria. I insert 5 piece of genes in the gene of E.coli which code for bacterial luciferase enzyme and fatty acid reductase enzyme complex. The design can emit light when a chemical reaction occurs. In the chemical reaction, the bacterial luciferase need to react with luciferin, oxygen, and fatty aldehyde. The luciferin is a reduced riboflavin phosphate, also known as FMNH2, which is derived from one electron carrier called FMN that is shown in ETC in both prokaryotic cell and eukaryotic cell. The luciferin can be attained after FMN getting a hydride from NADPH in a reaction catalyzed by FMN reductase. This technique is presented in most of the bacteria, so there is no need to concern about the supply of luciferin. Besides luciferin, fatty aldehyde and oxygen are also necessary. As shown in the figure 2, I insert 5 pieces of genes in the E.coli. Lux A and Lux B gene code for bacterial luciferase, and then the fatty acid reductase enzyme complex that is used for producing fatty aldehyde can be composed from 4 copies of polypeptides expressed by each of Lux C, Lux D, Lux E. Another necessary reactant, oxygen, will be attained from the outside environment.Besides the basic components for transcription such as activator binding site, promoter, and terminator, I also add in a repressor and a light receptor in the E.coli. When there is light around the bacteria, no signals will be sent to repressor from the light receptor. The repressor will still bind with the operator on the gene and prevent the transcription. However, when there is no light presented in the outside environment, the light receptor inside the bacteria will sense that and send a chemical signal to the repressor. The chemical signal can bind with repressor and change the physical shape of repressor. The repressor then can not bind with the operator any more. Transcription then can begin and the bacteria luciferase enzyme, fatty acid reductase enzyme complex, and fatty aldehyde can be synthesized. Light-produced chemical reaction can occur now.
Fig.2 Edited Gene inside of E.coli
To make the cell function as a light, I put them in the liquid growth medium. The liquid growth medium contains the necessary substances for bacteria’s growth. The container will be separated from outside, but oxygen and liquid growth medium can be injected inside the container periodically by the syringes. The area that is used for injection on the containers works similarly to the air holes on basketball. This avoid the leakage of bacteria to some extent. The genetic devices used in the bacteria are shown in Table 1.
Table. 1 Genetic Devices Used in the Bacteria
Expected results
When the bacteria is in a darkness, the transcription begins and luciferase enzyme as well as fatty aldehyde is produced. The light then can be produced if oxygen are also presented. However, when the environment around the bacteria is full of light, the transcription will not occur. Neither does the chemical reaction.
In this way, as long as the environment is suitable for the growth of E.coli and oxygen is added in periodically, the bacteria can response to the environment and function as a night light in the nights.
Advantages
This design reduces the threats brought by those harmful substances such as lead and arsenic. Also, the new type of night light can turn on or off itself depends on the environment. My design is worth funding because it can save electricity and reduce the risks of fire and scald for it doesn't use the electricity as an energy source. Also, the design is interesting for there are not many bioluminescence-based lights in today’s market.Potential Problems
The bacteria can leak out of the container if kids broke it badly. Though E.coli is a type of comparatively harmless bacteria, the leakage will pose threats on kids’ health if it’s not dealt with appropriately.When my employees are developing my design, they should absolutely wear goggles and gloves to avoid the direct contact with bacteria. Also, during the process, they should store the containers appropriately to avoid the leakage.
In addition, to protect the environment, all of the waste will be dealt with appropriately. They will not be thrown away directly for there will still be bacteria on them. We need to make sure that the bacteria will not spread in the ecological environment we live directly.
What’s more, there are also inefficiencies of my design compared to traditional night light. People just need to plug the traditional night light in the outlet when they want to use it. However, people need to add in oxygen and liquid growth medium to my design periodically if they want it to work appropriately. Also, the energy source of my design is a kind of bacteria. If being leaked out, it is able to pose danger to organisms’ health to some extent.
However, everything has two sides. Though the design has potential problems, as long as the consumers place it in appropriate places and add in oxygen and liquid growth medium periodically, those risks of fire and scald that are caused by traditional night light can all be reduced. What’s more, the design can regulate itself according to the brightness outside. In that way, consumers will not concern about forgetting to turn off the light on day time. It will turn off itself when the new day begins.
Testing
I will test the design by leaving it alone after adding a certain amount of oxygen and liquid growth medium. The time before it becomes unable to emit light will be recorded. This testing will help to figure out the relationship between the light time and the amount of oxygen and liquid growth medium. In this way, the best period time to add in those necessary substances can be found out. The usage of the light can be more efficient then for we can figure out in what way we can minimize the energy paying to make the light work and maximize the function of those necessary substances as well.Reference List
**http://biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/chem/detail2.html****http://photobiology.info/Lin.html**
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/led-lightbulb-concerns/
**http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2012/LED-Night-Lights-Recalled-by-AmerTac-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards/**